Utica school board fires Superintendent Bruce Karam. What happens next?

Utica schools Superintendent Bruce Karam is out of a job.

A little more than 13 months after Karam was placed on paid administrative leave, the school board voted 5-2 to fire him Monday afternoon at a special meeting. Board members Donald Dawes and Robert Cardillo voted against the firing.

Karam, who faces charges of grand larceny and public corruption, hasn’t been convicted of anything and has court cases still pending, Dawes pointed out after the motion was made.

“In this country as far as I know, you’re still innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

“I think,” he added, “we’re putting ourselves at great risk by voting on this motion.”

But the board took the vote without any further discussion.

Interim superintendent named

It then voted 6-1 to appoint acting superintendent Kathleen Davis as interim superintendent starting immediately. The resolution to appoint her noted Davis’ certifications and the skills and experience she’s demonstrated as acting superintendent.

Dawes cast the sole vote against Davis’ appointment, noting that Davis has done well, but he thinks the board’s actions are unwise.

Davis, the district’s third acting superintendent since Karam was placed on leave on Oct. 18, then took the oath of office.

After the meeting, the board released a statement calling Karam’s termination a “significant and necessary step for the district.” Karam had been superintendent since 2011.

The decision was made, the statement continued because Karam has said and done thing that “render it impossible for him to continue in the position of superintendent of our district. Simply put, Mr. Karam breached the trust placed in him by the board and the (Utica City School District) community.”

Leave, charges

Karam was placed on leave by the board so an independent investigator could look into complaints made by two administrators accusing Karam of creating a hostile working environment. The investigator’s found, according to his report given to the board in January, that Karam had made inappropriate, disrespectful comments to and about district employees, and that his behavior rose to the level of bullying.  

Earlier this month he and former school board president/former Utica mayor Louis LaPolla were indicted by a grand jury on charges related to Karam’s alleged use of nearly $15,000 worth of school district resources, including staff time, to send out political mailings and invitations to a fundraiser being held by LaPolla.

LaPolla is accused of knowing about Karam’s behavior. He was also arrested in September after a federal indictment on six counts of mail fraud related to his fundraising for a scholarship fund in his wife’s memory.  

Termination decision

The statement listed some of the factors that led to the board’s decision:

• Disparaging comments Karam allegedly made about the ethnicity, disability or appearance of individuals as uncovered by the investigator.

• “A series of concerning actions by Mr. Karam” related to the complaints against him, his indictment and the creation of a “detrimental work environment.”

Karam sued the district in both federal and state court after he was placed on leave. The state lawsuit was dismissed, but the federal case is pending.

The district also went to court, asking a judge to declare Karam’s contract null and void so the district could fire him with a simple majority vote of the board. That is, in fact, what the board did on Monday even though the case has not yet been decided by the courts.

“While the district would have preferred to have a court confirm that Mr. Karam’s purported employment contract is void before moving to terminate his employment,” the board’s statement said, “after carefully weighing the various factors and considering possible consequences of different courses of action, the board believes it is in the district’s best interest to take action at this juncture.”

The statement expressed the board’s thanks for the community’s support and patience during “challenging” times and its commitment to “identifying and removing any obstacles that hinder the education and development of our students.”

The search for a new, permanent superintendent will start soon, the statement concluded, someone who shares the board’s desire for a “thriving and supportive environment for our students, staff, teachers and administration.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica school board fires Superintendent Bruce Karam